The Fête des Vignerons (Winegrowers’ Festival) is a traditional festival which takes place in Vevey, in Switzerland.
It has been organised by the Confrérie des Vignerons (Brotherhood of Winegrowers) in Vevey since 1797. The organising committee is free to choose how often the festival takes place, but the idea is that it is held once in a generation. Up to now, the interval between two festivals has varied between 14 and 28 years. The most recent festival took place in July and August 2019, 20 years after the preceding one (1999).
The festival features a show celebrating the world of winemaking; performances take place in the Vevey marketplace on the shores of Lake Geneva, and other festivities are organised around the town. Since 2016, the Fête des Vignerons has been included in UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage.
The 2019 edition of the festival was recommended as one of National Geographic's "world's most exciting destinations", one of The New York Times's "places to go in 2019" and was listed in The Guardian's "Where to go in 2019" list.
History
Origins
The origin of the Fête des Vignerons lies in the processions of the Vevey Confrérie des Vignerons. These processions are believed to have started in the Middle Ages. At that time, the Confrérie des Vignerons was called the Abbaye de l’Agriculture. In 1647 the Abbaye de l’Agriculture was only a small association. It grew during the 18th century and by 1776 almost a quarter of Vevey’s male population had become members. It was never a gathering of vineyard workers, as its current name would suggest, but of landholders who entrusted the care of their vineyards to those workers. A small group of experts from the Confrérie visited the vines at different times of year to judge and classify the quality of work of the winegrowers, an activity that continues to this day. The Abbot-Presidents (presidents of the council of the Confrérie) were, and still are, most often members of the City Councils, lawyers, notaries or judges.
Around 1770 the Confrérie des Vignerons decided on its aim of encouraging improvements in winegrowing and rewarding the vineyard workers’ good results, instead of concentrating on any possible failings. The best vineyard workers paraded through the town of Vevey together with members of the Confrérie. The archives of the Confrérie des Vignerons first record a parade in 1651, but it is probable that the parades started before that date. The parade followed a general meeting where the vineyard workers’ results were commented on and criticised and was followed by a banquet. The parades took the form of a pageant, with musicians and singers. In 1730 the parade included a small boy on top of a wine barrel playing the role of Bacchus. From 1741, the parades were held every three years. In 1747, a second theatrical character was added to the parade with a young apprentice playing the role of Ceres, goddess of wheat and the harvest.Other characters who have become traditional elements of the Fête des Vignerons appeared in the following years; Noah (the very first winegrower), people carrying the grapes of Canaan, priests and priestesses from Greek mythology, basket-bearers (kanephoros) and a group of fauns and bacchantes. The parade of 1783 included Silenus, riding a donkey. In 1791, a coronation ceremony was added at the end of the parade to honour the best vineyard workers. Six years later, on 9 August 1797, the coronation ceremony was combined into a staged spectacle. The costumed participants of the parade entered the Vevey marketplace where a platform and two thousand seats had been erected. The dances and songs were performed in the marketplace before the participants headed into the town, repeating the songs and dances along the parade. The spectacle and the parade were divided into the four seasons; first Spring with the god Pales, then Summer with Ceres, Autumn with Silenus and finally Winter with Noah and a village wedding celebration. This was the origin of the elaborate celebrations which continue to this day.